Removal of Restrictions on Importation of Defense Articles From Specified New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and To Amend the Term ``Military Firearms and Ammunition''

This final rule removes the following States of the former Soviet Union from the list of countries from which the import of defense articles into the United States is proscribed: Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The rule also restricts the importation of certain firearms and ammunition located or manufactured in any of the above countries or previously manufactured in the Soviet Union to conform to limitations contained in an agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation and in accordance with advice from the Department of State. The final rule specifies the firearms that are allowed to be imported from these countries as well as ammunition that may not be imported from these countries. The final rule also revises the list of proscribed countries to reflect the lifting of the embargo on importation of defense articles and defense services from the states of the former Yugoslavia, except for Serbia and Montenegro. Finally, the regulations are being revised to require applications to import parts of military firearms or ammunition of United States manufacture to be submitted with statements certifying that the parts were not furnished to a foreign government under a foreign assistance or sales program of the United States.